12/29/2017 Using the Surface Deform modifier with Marvelous Designer – Lares & Penates

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LARES & PENATESBits and bobs and household gods

Using the Surface Deform modifier with Marvelous DesignerPosted by RobinTalon on 29 December 2017, 11:31 pm

The Surface Deform modifier (manual page), new to Blender 2.79, is a really nifty modifier that can do some seriously fun things, but the thingI like best so far is how it can make our lives easier when we take a model from Marvelous Designer into Blender. I did a short video todemonstrate here but thought I’d write something up with screenshots for folks who either have trouble watching videos or prefer writtentutorials.

Retopology is always a chore, and when you create a model in MD and want to use it in Blender for anything but a static model, you prettymuch have to retopologize it. Even when you set MD to create quads, the topology is pretty dire and it’s almost impossible to rig well. SurfaceDeform makes the process of retopologizing MD models much less painful.

Here I’ve created a basic skirt in MD. It’s nothing special, but sufficient to demonstrate on.

I’ll select my skirt and export it (File -> Export -> Obj (Selected), but then I’ll Reset 2D Arrangement (top row of buttons above the avatar) andexport again to get the flat pattern as a 2D mesh.

http://laresandpenates.net/http://laresandpenates.net/author/RobinTalon/http://laresandpenates.net/2017/12/29/using-the-surface-deform-modifier-with-marvelous-designer/https://docs.blender.org/manual/en/dev/modeling/modifiers/deform/surface_deform.htmlhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AppKXZRTAfchttp://laresandpenates.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/sdf_1.png

12/29/2017 Using the Surface Deform modifier with Marvelous Designer – Lares & Penates

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I’ll import both of these new obj files into Blender. You can see that the 3D skirt has really pretty dreadful topology for weighting, and the 2Dskirt has exactly the same topology.

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12/29/2017 Using the Surface Deform modifier with Marvelous Designer – Lares & Penates

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Now we can have some fun! First, in object mode, select your flat model and give it a shape key. Then select your 3D model and shift-selectyour flat model. Using the little drop-down arrow next to Shape Keys, select Join as Shapes.

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12/29/2017 Using the Surface Deform modifier with Marvelous Designer – Lares & Penates

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Now if you select the flat model and your new shape key, then drag the Value up, you can see that the flat model wraps itself nicely aroundthe 3D model. Set Value back to 0 for now.

The next step is to create a copy of the flat model, then delete the shape keys from the copy. Off to edit mode you go to retopologize that copyany way you like, and then you’ll be ready for the next steps. We’re almost done. Here’s what my quick retopo looks like –

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12/29/2017 Using the Surface Deform modifier with Marvelous Designer – Lares & Penates

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Back in object mode, with your copy selected, add a Surface Deform modifier. I bet you can see where this is going now! Set the target of themodifier to your original flat mesh, set Interpolation Falloff to its maximum, 16, and click the Bind button.

Now select your original flat model and increase the Value on that shape key again. Magic! If you’re happy, then select your copy again andapply the modifier. Go into edit mode and admire your lovely skirt. You’ll see that everywhere that the edges of the pattern meet you’ll need todo a little clean-up – mostly just removing doubled vertices – but otherwise you’re done.

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